


i can tell that we are gonna be friends

by daskey



Series: The adventures of Alex and Alex [1]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: All Human AU, Alternate Universe - Foster Family, F/F, MeetCute, Mom AU?, So basically, but like as in a school au as in they’re parents of kids in the same school, called to the principal’s office au, school au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:01:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23308009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daskey/pseuds/daskey
Summary: Sam makes her judgements in an instant, but realises later that the scary-looking woman sitting beside her outside the principal’s office isn’t as intimidating as she seems.AKA the one where Ruby punches a bully and gets her mom a girlfriend in the processAKA the au where Alex fosters a kid who just so happens to find himself in trouble- title is that one song that everyone knows by the white stripes
Relationships: Samantha "Sam" Arias/Alex Danvers
Series: The adventures of Alex and Alex [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1676185
Comments: 25
Kudos: 224





	i can tell that we are gonna be friends

**Author's Note:**

> merry quarantine! 
> 
> ty to the people who read this before i posted it. you know who you are
> 
> also note - there's art on my blog if you wanna know what junior looks like! check out daskey.tumblr.com/post/613610690180268032/heres-alex-and-her-adopted-son-also-named-alex

Getting called into school in the middle of the day is never a good thing. There are only really two possibilities, it's never a good thing. 

One, Ruby is sick. And Sam has to drag herself out of work and drive all the way to her school to pick her up and set her on the couch where she is miraculously cured within the opening sequence of her favourite TV show. 

But that's not what's happened. 

She sits now in a vaguely uncomfortable chair outside the Principal's office. It's a little too small, plastic and unsteady, it rocks every time she moves her weight forward. There are a few school newsletters on the table beside her as an afterthought. The walls are painted a soft blue, probably to try and calm the restless kids sent to this very spot awaiting their judgement, and a number of poorly-painted artworks rest on the walls, their papers fraying at the edges, the paint still those too-pure shades of basic colours. It's trying too hard to be comforting and unthreatening but Sam would bet that the Principal's office is still as terrifying to these kids as it was to her when she was a kid. 

Oh, and there's another parent waiting here. Sitting with her elbows on her knees and her hands clasped together. Everything about her is sharp and aggressive, the antithesis of the space around her, flowers made of paint-dripped handprints with their stems made of pipe cleaners. Her hair falls into her face, partially obscuring the look in her eyes. 

Sam knows who this is immediately. The Other parent. The bully's parent. It's got to be. She doesn't say anything to Sam, lost in her own thoughts she barely reacts to her when she makes her way in. Doesn't do much but sit there, her leg occasionally jiggling, heel of her leather boot tap-tap-tapping against the linoleum. 

Sam pulls out her phone. There's barely any reception here, she has to wonder if that's by design. Either way, she doesn't really have much to look at apart from work emails, and those would do nothing but stress her out. The clock ticks closer to two. Ruby really couldn't make it to the end of lunch today-

The door swings open, creaky hinges and the rattle of the blinds on the door window. She recognises the man who walks out, not by his face but by his attitude. Standing tall, greasy hair. Suit that doesn't quite fit right. 

"Sorry I'm late, I know. Business meeting, you know how it is," He gives the Principal an over-whitened smile. 

"Mr Wilson, Jake has-" Mrs Chase starts, but he doesn't seem to have the time for it. He looks at his smartwatch as Jake collects his backpack with one hand, making sure to swing it in a wide arc as he marches towards his dad. 

"Yeah. Don't do it again buddy?" The man- Mr Wilson, Jared if Sam's memory serves her correctly - claps a hand on his son's shoulder, and gives him a little shake. Mrs Chase's brows rise, and she rests her hand on her hip as they make to leave. 

Jake doesn't seem remorseful in the slightest with nothing more than a red mark on his cheek that he lifts a damp, limp ice pack to. He eyes the office one more time before hoisting his backpack higher. His father guides him out. 

Sam looks to the office door, expecting to see Ruby but instead another child wanders out. This makes the woman beside her do something other than huff, bounce her leg, and stare at the office door. 

In an explosive movement she bursts from her seat and is rushing over to the young boy, sliding forwards on her knees. The boy throws his arms around her almost immediately, his bag falling useless to the ground. He buries his face into her leather jacket, and stays there for a solid few seconds as the other mom holds him tight. 

She's distracted from that surprise development when Ruby storms out of the office, on her face a barely contained expression of rage as she flexes the fingers of one hand. She makes eye contact with Sam and immediately raises her eyebrows, holding up a hand sheepishly in a wave. 

"Hi Mom," 

She isn't in the mood for it. She narrows her eyes, and sees how Ruby shrinks a little. "Don't you 'hi mom' me, young lady. You-" 

"In my defense, Jack started it!" 

"Ruby you can't be getting into fights-" 

"I didn't get into it. I ended it. And besides, don't you say I have to stick up for others and not be a passive bystander?" she defends, casting a glance at the other two people in the room. 

Sam can't really argue with that. "Yes but- I didn't mean punch people."

Ruby crosses her arms. "Well, he deserved it. He almost broke Junior's glasses." 

She turns to look at the other kid now. Almost his entire face is red, and his thick glasses sit crooked on his nose as tears stream down his face. There's mud on his shirt that the other mother brushes off, and it’s only when she looks at him does she realise he’s speaking. 

He’s so quiet. With a voice barely over a whisper but his mom seems to hear him perfectly fine. "I don't want to go home. I didn't do any- I didn't- I have science and I want to go, I want to go to class-" 

The mom looks up at the Principal, and she looks rather apologetic as she fiddles with a pen. "We have a zero tolerance policy,” she says, clearly expecting an angry response from the overprotective mother but she only sighs, ruffling the kid’s hair as she stands back up. 

"Junior I'm sorry. Hey, we'll go see Uncle Brainy later on this week, okay? I promise," she rights his glasses with a show of unexpected tenderness. That’s just what it is with this woman, she’s a whole lot of contradictions. 

"Our normal teacher isn't even in today." Ruby points out. She’s also being unexpectedly nice towards this kid. Not to say that Ruby isn’t nice, but she’s more abrasive and brash with her usual friends. But not with this kid. 

He blinks. To say he blinks owlishly feels a little too on the nose. But then he directs his gaze downwards, and fiddles with his hands for a little bit. "Oh," 

"Think of it like a free day off," Ruby says with a grin, and Sam rolls her eyes. 

"Ruby-" She admonishes, but the words have seemed to help the younger boy perk up a little bit. 

The other mom steps up. Places a strong hand on Junior's shoulder, and sends a thankful smile towards Ruby before her eyes finally land on Sam. 

Dark brown, impossibly deep eyes and a crooked smile that has her forgetting how to speak. She must look like an idiot because Ruby grabs her elbow and gives her a little tug towards the door. 

But Sam doesn't want to let this woman go without saying something. 

"We're going to Noonans. For cake," 

"Really?!" Ruby gasps, and now is not the time. She shoots a look at Ruby, trying to get her to calm down her reaction like it doesn't feel like it's come out of left field but her eyes are closed and she has an expression of pure elation which is making the other mother look at them both, confused. 

"Yes we are," Sam intones carefully, and that seems to get Ruby to clue in on the fact that her overreaction wasn't particularly warranted. "So... to apologise for the trouble we've caused, do you want to maybe come with us?" 

"You didn't cause any trouble. Saved us from a whole lot. It's up to you, buddy," the woman addresses her son, and he looks up at her, and then at Sam and Ruby. He takes a moment to chew his lower lip before nodding so fast his choppy hair bounces up and down and Ruby lets out a loud cheer which promptly gets them directed out of the school office. 

Ruby decides she wants to give Junior a review of the entire Noonan's menu, starting from the desserts. The two of them walk on ahead as the adults follow a little bit behind. 

The woman's hair is an auburn red in the sunlight. When she closes her eyes to fight against the glare from the early afternoon sun, Sam is transfixed by how the light dances through her long lashes, how her laugh lines and the light dusting of freckles on her cheeks make her look less... harsh. She has her hands in the pockets of her leather jacket, she feels sure of herself in a way that Sam wishes she could be. 

Right now every nerve is tuned to her presence and it's making Sam restless. Her mouth itches to speak but she can't find the words, her mind tossing out useless chatter about the weather and random factoids from the news that would probably bore her so why would she even bother? 

And then the woman's eyes turn to look at her again and she's caught in her staring - when did she start staring? Probably around the time that she forgot to look away from this woman - and she smiles-

"I don't know your name?" she stammers out. And it's as much an explanation of her staring and she could leave it at that but she's started the word vomit so she might as well commit - "I'm part of the PTA and I've never really seen you around. Or before school. But it's totally normal for you not to be around at either of those times I mean, work and stuff yeah I get it, and also the PTA is just full of stuck up snobs half the time and they don't really seem like your crowd and-" 

The woman laughs- laughs at how flustered she is and it shakes Sam right out of her trainwreck, as does the way she runs a hand through her hair, pushing it back and - "Alex," 

Ruby turns around at that, her brow furrowed as she looks between mother and son. "Not his name, she was asking about yours." 

"We're both named Alex. I'm Alexandra," the mother- Alex- says, and points to Junior. "He's Alexander." 

"I'm adopted," Junior says. He doesn't seem phased by that in the slightest. His voice is actually rather loud right now, Sam has to wonder if that's because of Ruby's inability to regulate her own volume when speaking. "Like my Aunt Kara." 

"Hey, I was adopted too," Sam chimes, and Junior beams before he realises what he's doing and tucks his smile away, lowering his head and pitching his shoulders up. 

Now the kids are tuned in to their conversation and the little bubble they'd had around them has burst. Alex pulls out her keys from her pocket and looks over at Ruby and Sam for a moment. 

"We'll meet you at Noonan's," she says with a smile, and Junior says a similar goodbye to Ruby before running over to a motorbike, picking up a bright blue helmet covered in stickers.

Sam is sure that Ruby's sharing the same expression that she has right now. Jaw dropped in shock as Alex straddles the sleek black bike, sliding on a helmet and Junior throws his arms around his mom, waving goodbye as the bike peels away from the sidewalk. 

They stare in silence for a long, long moment as the rumble of the bike gets louder and then fades into the distance. 

Then Ruby sighs. "Damn Mom, why can't you be cool like that?" 

"Language!" 

-

"Alex," Junior says, the start of a question rather than a simple statement of her name. He takes another bite of his cupcake and doesn't continue his sentence. 

"Alex," his mother responds, knowing full well that when he starts a sentence like that, his analytical brain has kicked in again and he's waiting to find the right words to express himself. She's not upset about him not calling her Mom all the time, she's waiting till he feels more comfortable using it every day. For now, Mom is a sign that something's the matter, like earlier at the school. Right now though, he's calmed down over the disappointment of missing out on science and she's satisfied with that. 

The box of cupcakes and the hot chocolate have given him a little boost of happiness, as has the chance to sit around and watch the goings on around him. The cafe isn't too busy, it's the tail end of the lunch rush, but there are a number of people going past and Junior people-watches with idle curiosity. 

Then he seems to remember what he was about to say, and it's like his entire body straightens out till he takes the form of an exclamation point. "Ruby doesn't have a dad." 

"Okay," this information was unwarranted and she doesn't see what it has to do with anything as she stirs her coffee. "And?" 

"You like her mom," 

"Sure. She's a nice lady," Alex isn't sure what he's getting at. Ruby's mom was nice. Friendly. Attractive- but she can't be thinking of that kind of thing about Junior's best friend's mom... right? She's gotta keep her cool. Be casual. She'd done a good job of that at the school. Kept focused on why she was there. Didn't stammer when she spoke to her. 

"Her name is Samantha." Junior says, then pauses. "I heard that when the people in the office called up Ruby's mom that was the first thing they said. 'Hi Ms Arias' and then she just called her 'Samantha'," 

"We really gotta talk about that eavesdropping," 

Junior shrugs, picking at the wrapper around the base of his cupcake. "I just thought you'd want to know, since you didn't ask for her name." 

Alex's eyes widen, and she stops her incessant stirring. "Oh shit, I didn't, did I?" 

"Dollar for the swear jar," Junior says with a blue-tinged grin, and Alex sticks her tongue out back at him. 

-

Noonan's becomes a trip to the park as well. And Alex gets to talk to Samantha- just Sam - while Ruby attempts to show Alex's incredibly uncoordinated son how to bounce a soccer ball on his foot. 

And while they're out playing in the sun they get to talking and Sam learns about Alex, a fed who found a new appreciation for the world once she adopted a son. Who found an appreciation for sunshine and park trips and the National City Aquarium, who started taking days off and looking after herself once she had someone else depending on her. 

"Two years sober," Alex admits as they sit together on an old park bench, leaves from the old oaks skittering on the sidewalk. Alex doesn't meet her eyes when she admits that, but Sam gets the sense that she isn't ashamed of her past. Only quietly appreciative of how far she's come. Of what that means. She's humble. Doesn't look for praise, only smiles as she watches Junior take yet another tumble as he steps onto the soccer ball instead of kicking it. 

Alex's hand rests on the bench between them. It's either brave or stupid, Sam isn't sure, but she reaches out to take it in her own. Feels Alex tense up at the unfamiliar touch, before she squeezes Sam's hand back. 

Then there's a return to conversation, and it's Sam's turn. Alex hears the whole story. Patricia. Being kicked out at 16. Ruby. 

Sam doesn't realise they're still holding hands till Alex gives hers a squeeze. Gives her a small smile, the kind that just plays at the edges of her lips. One that says; I know. I understand how your life changed. A smile that says I understand because it happened to me. 

Then Junior flops down exhausted onto the bench next to Alex, and Sam's accosted by Ruby shoving a mud and grass covered soccer ball into her chest, and they decide that it's time to head home. 

-

They walk Sam and Ruby to their car. Junior drags his feet with every step, Alex can already tell her not-very-athletic son is going to regret a whole lot of things once they get back to their apartment. 

But he’s happy and socialising in a way she hasn’t really seen him before with other kids. This feels like the beginning of something, and not just for him. 

She wonders if it's just wishful thinking, or if the tall woman beside her really is enjoying their time together. She has the kind of easy smile that is both warming and confusing. It seems to be just the way she is. 

Alex decides to break the comfortable silence they've settled in. It's... nice, in an odd way, but she doesn't want to waste these last few moments, doesn't want this to be something she regrets late at night. No more missed connections. 

She always talks to her boy about being brave. He's got more words in one sentence now than he used to say in a whole term at school. 

Alex gives Sam a smile, and gets a dazzling one in return. "I'm sure there was a less violent way to get out of that fight but that punch sure ended it," Alex compliments Ruby's heroism, but Sam only gives her an exasperated look in response. 

She tries not to laugh. 

"You're mad, but I always thought that I'd have to talk my kid out of starting fights. Junior's not about to start throwing punches any time soon." 

Sam turns to look at their kids, and a fond smile twitches at her lips while her brow furrows. "Do you want to trade? You can take Ruby, if you want a kid who always finds her way into trouble." 

"I hear someone talking about me," Ruby turns around on her heels, with a wide shit-eating grin. "Is it about how awesome I am?" 

"No. Mind your own business." 

She sticks out her tongue, and goes back to paying attention to Junior's phone. Alex glances at the screen and sees that Junior is showing her one of his current battle robots that he's been working on with Brainy and Winn. 

"That's cool," Ruby is genuinely impressed, and that's all the fuel Junior needs to rocket into an explanation of all the features he wants to add next. 

They get to Sam and Ruby's car, and there's a moment where Junior hesitates on saying goodbye. Ruby holds out a fist, and he doesn't quite know what to do with it. 

So he holds out his hand like he would for a high five, and awkwardly taps her knuckles. 

"Dude you just made a secret handshake!" 

Alex hesitates too. Like mother, like son. She turns to look at Sam, and she's watching their kids with a fond smile on her face. And maybe Alex is way too ahead of herself, but she swears she can feel some kind of significance to this moment. 

Sam notices her staring, and glances over at her with a smile. "Our kids are alright," she says, and Alex smiles back in agreement. 

Maybe it's the start of something new. This might just be the moment that they'll remember years in the future, the moment where they met, and their lives changed for the better. 

But for now, Sam gets into her car, shuffles around for a moment in a cup holder with one hand while she rolls down the window with the other. Cause it's one of those old cars that she drives, an actual vintage without power windows. 

Alex wants to know more about her. She wants to see more of that smile, ask her about her car. Ask her about her dreams. 

But for now, she just steps forward as Sam holds a business card between two fingers. Plucks it out of her grip, doesn't look at it just yet. 

"You're both welcome at ours. To study, or to just hang out. Or maybe for dinner? Tomorrow's pizza night." Sam says, drumming her fingers on the steering wheel. Her amber eyes are wide, Alex wonders if she feels as nervous as she does. 

Then Junior grips Alex's arm, hard, and it startles her out of her thoughts. So she can't really say no, can she? 

Who is she kidding. It wasn't like she was planning on saying no anyways. "Sure, we can stop by for pizza." 

Junior hisses out a yes, and Ruby lets out a similar cheer from the passenger seat. They make plans for six tomorrow evening, and Sam's car pulls out of the parking lot with a low rumble, Ruby waving from the passenger window. Alex grabs Junior's helmet, and plonks it on his head while he still has his hand up in a wave. 

  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> i might make this a series to explore the alex and junior dynamic! if people want it. so leave a comment if you do ahkgdj or just a kudos. anyways thanks for reading love you stay safe byeee


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